Afghan Taliban Feels Pressure from ISIS; Malala Suspects Secretly Acquitted in Pakistan; Protests Intensify in JammuEmily Schneider and Shuja Malik, Edited by Peter Bergen, Foreign Policy05 June 2015 Afghanistan Afghan Taliban fighting ISIS for territory, recruits Militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State or ISIS in Afghanistan are becoming more than a nuisance to the country’s larger militant group, the Afghan Taliban, by claiming

Afghan woman Farkhunda lynched in Kabul 'for speaking out' BBC News Asia 23 March 2015   An Afghan woman who was lynched after being falsely accused of burning the Koran was killed for tackling superstitious practices, witnesses say. Farkhunda, who was beaten to death by a Kabul mob last week, had been arguing with a mullah about his practice of selling charms to women at a shrine. In the course of the argument she was accused of burning the

Afghan Militia Leaders, Empowered by U.S. to Fight Taliban, Inspire Fear in Villages Joseph Goldstein, New York Times 17 March 2015 KABUL, Afghanistan — Rahimullah used to be a farmer — just a “normal person living an ordinary life,” as he put it. Then he formed his own militia last year and found himself swept up in America’s exit strategy from Afghanistan. With about 20 men loyal to him, Rahimullah, 56, soon discovered a patron in the

Refugees Are Pushed to Exits in Pakistan Joseph Goldstein, New York Times 23 February 2015 TORKHAM, Afghanistan — First, the Afghan families’ homes were raided by Pakistani policemen wielding sticks. Then the men were hauled off to jail, released only after relatives paid bribes. When they had nothing left to pay, they said, they were told to leavePakistan forever and return to Afghanistan — officially their native country, but a land foreign

Afghan, Pakistan Taliban kill 28 in attacks on provincial police HQs Mirwais Harooni, Reuters 17 February 2015   (Reuters) - Four suicide attackers stormed a provincial police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 22 police in an attack claimed by the Taliban. The attack in Logar province outside the capital, Kabul, was the latest to target Afghan security forces following the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops last year

Afghanistan drone strike 'kills IS commander Abdul Rauf' BBC News Asia 9 February 2015 A drone strike in Afghanistan has killed a militant commander who recently swore allegiance to Islamic State (IS), officials say. The police chief of Helmand said that former Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Rauf had died in the Nato strike. It emerged last month that Rauf had sworn allegiance to IS after falling out with the Taliban. Tribal elders in northern Helmand

Australia Warns ISIS May Expand into Afghanistan Aruts Sheva 2 February 2015   Australia's foreign minister said Monday there is a danger of Islamic State(ISIS) terrorists expanding operations to Afghanistan, even though there is little evidence of a presence there now. Julie Bishop, hosting Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Defense Secretary Michael Fallon for annual security talks, said she was made aware of "some evidence

Fears of 'Islamic State' in Afghanistan Deutsche Welle 26 January 2015   "There are men with black flags and black clothes," nervously reports Gol Mohammad. "I have seen them brandishing heavy weapons and driving luxury cars," he states when describing the fighters. In Farah Province's Khake Safed district, in western Afghanistan, the fighters just appeared one day. Since then, rumors have become more frequent. The people are afraid. "We fear

Afghanistan: UK troops leave Kandahar Airfield BBC 24 November 2014 The final UK service personnel have left Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan to return home, the Ministry of Defence has said. They departed for the UK on Sunday afternoon, 13 years after the military arrived in the region. Only a few hundred British troops now remain in Afghanistan. The last combat troops withdrew from Camp Bastion in a huge airlift operation four weeks ago.

Taliban Are Rising Again in Afghanistan’s North By Azam Ahmed, The New York Times 22 October 2014 CHAHAR DARA, Afghanistan — The last time Afghans in the northern province of Kunduz felt so threatened by the Taliban was in 2009, just before President Obama deployed thousands of troops to push the insurgents back from the outskirts of the province’s capital. Now the Taliban are back, but the cavalry will not be coming. With just two months left